Compressed-air water-elevator.



No. 666,659. Patented'lan. 29, MIDI. H. L. FROST.

COMPRESSED AIR WATER ELEVATOR.

(Application filed Jan. 17, 1900.)

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a. L. FROST.. COMPRESSED AIR WATER ELEVATOR Patented Ian. 29, 190i.

(Applicltion filed Jan. 17. 1900.)

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I I u auuzul o b Witucmco Sh m/wan UNITED mares HORACE LEE FROST, OF BRISTOL,'TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL PNEUMATIC PUMP AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF TENNESSEE.

COMPRESSED-AIR WATER-ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 666,659, dated January 29, 1901.

Application filed January 17, 1900. serial No. 1,792. (No motleL:

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that'I, HORACE LEE FROST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Sullivan and State of 5 Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Compressed-Air Water-Elevator,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in compressed-air water-elevators of that class in which the energy of an aeriform motive fluid under pressure is controlled for utilization in a manner to lift liquids from an Artesian, bored, or other deep well.

One object of this invention is to provide a single-valve mechanism operable automatically in connection with a rocking or oscillatory vessel for controlling the ingress of the motive fluid to and the exhaust of such'fluid from said vessel.

A further object is toso combine the valve mechanism with said vessel as to utilize the motion of the latter for automatically shifting the valve, and, furthermore, to arrange the valve-actuating means in a way to regulate the stroke of the valve, and thereby permit the vessel to pass the dead-center in its oscillatory play before cutting off the air-supply to one compartment and admitting the same to another compartment of the vessel.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rocker-plate formed in a single casting and fnlcrumed directly and exclusively upon lateral extensions of the induction and eduction pipes, the receptacles and the entire valve mechanism being supported upon the plate in order to render the mounting of the receptacles more sensitive and to do away with the more or less heavy superstructure which ordinarily supports the valve mechanism at a point removed from the axis of oscillation of the device, and subordinate to this lastnamed object is the concealment and protection of all of the operative parts except the valve-ad j uster within either the receptacles or the rocker-plate.

Other purposes and advantages of the invent-ion will appear in the course of the subjoined description, and the novel features will be pointed out in the claims.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is an elevation of the working parts forming a water-elevator of my invention submerged within the lower part of a well. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional elevation taken through the rocking tank or vessel and the motive-fluid inlet and exhaust valve, the full lines showing the parts in one position and the dotted lines illustrating a reversed position of the parts. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken transversely to the plane of section of Fig. 2 to show the means for supplying the motive fluid to one comv partment of the vessel and of conveying the liquid from the same compartment thereof. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional elevation of the rocking vessel and the valve, showing by full lines the parts in the position corresponding to the dotted-line position of Fig.

2. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the rockerwhich carries the vessel or tank. Fig. 6 is a detail cross-section through the rocker in the plane of the dotted line 6 6 on Fig. 5.

The same numerals of reference are used to indicate like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying my invention into practice the operative parts of the submerged elevator are supported on and by a base 10, which may rest upon the bottom of any kind of a Well, as 11 in Fig. 1. In this figure the base 10 is shown as supported on the sides of a dug well; but this is immaterial, because it is obvious that the base may rest upon the bottom of an Artesian, bored, or drilled deep well, or the apparatus may be suspended therein so as to be submerged in the water of the well, 0 it being understood that the apparatus is especially adapted for deep wells. This base is provided at its opposite sides with upstanding foot-bearings 12, in one of which is firmly secured the lower extremity of a motive-fluid- 5 supply pipe 13, while a liquideduction pipe 14 has its corresponding lower end secured in like manner to the other foot bearing 12. These two pipes extend upwardly from the submerged part of the apparatus through the I00 well, so that the supply-pipe 13 may be connected with any suitable means adapted to generate and supply motive fluid of an aeriform nature, while the ed uction-pipe is adapted to deliver the liquid to any suitable place of storage.

My apparatus may be supplied with compressed air, the energy of which is utilized for the elevation of water, oil, or other liquid from a well; but any other aeriform motive fluid under pressure may be conducted by the pipe 13 to the submerged apparatus to be utilized in a like way and for the same purposeas, for example, steam under pressure may be supplied to the apparatus for elevating the liquid, and subsequently to utilizing the pressure of the steam the same may be exhausted into the water of the well for the purpose of imparting the latent heat of the steam to the Water, and thereby elevate the temperature thereof, so that the water may be delivered in a comparatively heated condition, which adapts it to be used as feed-water for a boiler.

The parallel supply and eduction pipes are joined above the base and the oscillatory vessel by a sectional brace 15, the members of which are individually coupled to the pipes, and these members are united at their contiguous ends by a blind coupling 16, the latter equipped with an intermediate partition 17, which cuts off communication between the supply-pipe and eduction-pipe, as clearly shown by Fig. 3.

The supply-pipe is provided at its lower end withahorizontal branch 18 in communication therewith, and in a similar way the ed uction-pipe is provided with a corresponding branch 19. These two branches are horizontally disposed and in alinement with each other, so as to form a pivotal support for a rocker 20, which is interposed between the pipe branches and is provided with separate passages adapted for communication individually with the supply-pipe and the eduction-pipe, respectively. This rocker is preferably in the form of a single casting, and it is provided at opposite sides and in the plane of the transverse axis thereof with sockets 21 22, which are shown by full lines in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines in Fig. 5. These sockets receive the inner contiguous ends of the pipe branches l8 l9, and on said branches are fitted the glands 23, which are screwed into the sockets of the rocker, so as to compress the packings 24 for the purpose of making tight joints between the rocker and the pipe branches, while also securing communication between the rocker and said branches for the rocker to oscillate freely without leakage of the fluid. This rocker is provided with a valvecylinder 25,disposed, preferably,on the lower side thereof and in a position at right angles to the axis of the sockets 21 22, said valve-cylinder being arranged a little to one side of the center of the rocker. The valvecylinder is hollow, preferably cylindricaland open at both ends, the length of the said cylinder exceeding the rocker, so that the ends of the cylinder'extend beyond opposite ends of the rocker.

(See Fig. 5.) This cylinder is in communication with the branch 18 through a short connecting-passage 26, (see Figs. 3 and 5,) and in the rocker is provided upwardly-opening sockets having plates or walls 26 27, the latter provided with inletports 28 for the motive fluid. These plates are provided in the rocker on opposite sides of the socket 21 and the pipe branch 18, and they are arranged in the plane of the upper side or wall of the valve-cylinder 25 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The rocker is also provided with a liquid-outlet passage 29, the axis of which is parallel to that of the valve-cylinder, and this outletpassage is in communication with the socket 22and the pipe branch 19 by a short connecting-passage 30. The outlet-passage 29 is provided with upwardly-opening liquid-eduction ports 31 32, both of which are in communication with the passage 29.

The tank orvessel 33 may be of metal or any other appropriate material, and it is mounted on and secured to the rocker in any approved way, so that the tank and rocker are joined firmly together for the tank to oscillate with the rocker This tank may be of any preferred form; but I prefer the upwardly-flaring construction with the arched or dome-shaped upper part 34. (Shown by Fig. 2.) The tank is provided with a trans verse partition 35, which is secured firmly to the bottom, top, and sides thereof for the purpose of dividing the interior of the vessel into non-communicating chambers 33 33". (See Fig. 2.) In one chamber is arranged a motive-fluid-inlet pipe 36, while the other chamber contains a similar pipe 37, said pipes being secured firmly in the sockets of the rocker immediately over the port plates or walls 26 27. The-pipes extend upwardly from the tank-bottom and the rocker to points close to the arched top of the tank, so as to discharge the motive flnid into the upper part of the chambers in said vessel, and thereby enable the motive fluid to exert pressure upon the fluid contents of the vessel to eject the liquid therefrom. H

In the chamber 33 of the vessel is an outlet-Valve casing 38, and a similar casing is provided in the chamber33", each of said casings being secured to the rocker, so that one casing is in communication with the port 31, while the other casing com municates with the port 32, each valve-casing having an automatic valve 40 of any suitable type.

One of the important features of my in vention is a single valve mechanism for controlling the ingress of the motive fluid to and its exhaust from the separate chambers of the oscillatory tank. This valve comprises a stem 41 and the heads 42, each head being provided with a packing of any suitable character-snch, for example, as cotton-wicking or spring-pressed rubber-the nature of the packing being immaterial and susceptible of modification within the skill of the constructor. The valve resembles structures of the type known as piston-Valves, and it is adapted to be arranged within the valvechamber 25 for the stem 41 to extend longitudinally thereof. are spaced apart on the stem for a distance somewhat exceeding the distance between the port-plates 2" 27 in the rocker, and this valve is adapted to be shifted by a valve-adjuster which is operated solely by the oscillatory movement of the rocker and the tank. This valve-adjuster is represented in its preferred embodiment by an arm 43, which is attached at 44 to a protruding end of the stem 41 of the piston-valve. Said stem is prolonged beyond one of the valve-heads to extend at all times beyond a corresponding end of the valve cylinder or chest, and said extended part of the valve-stem is arranged to play freely in a valve-guide 45, which is fastened securely to one end of the valve-chest, said guide having suitable ports 46 for the exhausted motive fluid to escape therethrough.

The valve arm or adjuster is shown as fastened firmly at 44 to the protruding end of the valve-stem, (see Figs. 2 and 4,) and the other end of this valve-adjuster is made angular, as at 47, and is provided with a longitudinal slot 43, the length of which slot regulates the throw or movement of the pistonvalve. The valve-adjuster, constructed and attached as described, is adapted to meet a fixed point of resistance on a stationary part of the apparatus, and this point of resistance is embodied as a stud or bolt 49, which passes through the slotted angular end of the valvearm and is made fast with the base 10. The valve-adjuster is free to have a limited move ment relative to the stud on the change in the angular position of the rocker and the tank, but the continued movement of the valve-adjuster with the rocker and the tank is arrested by the fixed stud, so that the adjuster will serve to shift the valve positively, whereby the tank may rock or swing through a part of its arc of movement for the purpose of partly discharging the liquid contents of one chamber before the valve begins to move.

To cushion the oscillation of the rocker and the tank, and thereby minimize the shock and oscillation on the apparatus, I have provided yieldable buifers 50, which are supported by posts 51, fast with the base on opposite sides of the axis of oscillation of the rocker, said buffers being preferably disposed in the path of the \-'alve-cylinder, which is on the under side of the rocker.

The tank or vessel is provided on opposite sides with water-inlet valves 52 53, which are disposed within the chambers 33, respectively, each valve serving to close a waterinlet port 54. The valves may be hung in the chambers of the tank in any suitable way, as at 55,and the water-i 11 let ports are screened, as at 56, to prevent floating debris and other foreign matter from entering the tank and interfering with the apparatus.

The operation is as follows: Assuming that The heads 42 of the valve the chamber 33 of the tank is filled or partly filled with water and that the tank is tilted to the position shown by Fig. 2, the valve is adjusted for one head thereof to open the ports in the plate 27 for the motive fluid to pass through the pipe 36 and exert pressure upon the water in said chamber 33, so as to force said water from the chamber through the valve-casing 38 into the passage 29 and through the pipe-branch 19 and the eductionpipe 14. In this position of the parts the valve 52 of the chamber 33' is closed by the pressure of water and the motive fluid therein, while at the same time the other pistonhead of the valve is in a position to open the exhaust through the pipe 37 and the portplate 26, so that the water of the well is free to flow through the valve 53 and enter the chamber 33" of the tank, whereby one chamber is being filled with water while the water in the other chamber is displaced by the pressure of the motive fluid. The displacement of the water from the chamber 33 and the accumulation of airpressure therein and the inflow of water into the chamber 3 serves to overbalance the tank or vessel, so as to make it and the rocker automatically reverse to assume the positions shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and by full lines by Fig. 4. This reversal of the tank and the rocker has the effect of shifting the valvearm relatively to the stud or bolt; but by reason of the slot 48 in said arm engaging with the stud-bolt the rocker and the tank are capable of a limited movement to assumea position wherein the vertical axis of the tank is slightly beyond the vertical plane of the axis of oscillation of the tank before the piston-valve is moved to entirely out off the ingress of the motive fluid to the' chamber 33 and its admission to the other chamber 33. Immediately after the tank and the rocker shall have passed the vertical center the valve is shifted by the adjuster meeting the fixed point of resistance and on the continued movement of the rocker, so as to wholly out ofi the supply of motive fluid from the chamber 33 and admit the motive fluid to the chamber 33". In the continued movement of the parts to assume the position shown by Fig. 4 one piston-head of the valve is moved to open the exhaust from the chamber 33 to the left-hand end of the valve-cylinder, while the other head of the valve uncovers the port-plate 26 for the motive fluid to pass freely therethrough and into the pipe 37, so as to effect the closing of the valve 53 and displace the water from the chamber 33" through the valve 40, the passage 29, and the pipe branch 19 into the eduction-pipe. The apparatus thus operates automatically to force the liquid from the alternate chambers into the eduction pipe, so that the liquid will be discharged continuously through the latter.

I attach especial importance to the valveactuator capable of a limited amount of lost motion with relation to its fixed point of resistance and to the oscillation of the rocker, the valve, and the vessel, said valve-actuator being so related to its fixed point of resistance as to permit the Vessel to move to a position Where its vertical axis is slightly beyond the vertical plane of the axis of oscillation of the vessel before the piston-valve is shifted to entirely cut off the flow of the aeriform fluid into one compartment of the vessel. flow of the aeriform fluid were cut oif immediately after the vessel begins to change its position from one limit toward the other the liquid would not be wholly expelled from the compartment, because the aeriform fluid would not have sufficient opportunity to act on the liquid and effect its entire displacement, and it is to be observed, furthermore, that under such conditions the loaded side of the vessel would not be lightened by the outflow of the liquid and the inflow of the aeriform fluid so as to insure the desired increase in the buoyancy of one compartment over the other. I have arranged the actuator to control the piston-valve in such a way as to maintain the valve in an open position for the admission of fluid to one compartment of the vessel until the latter reaches a position where its vertical axis is a little to one side and beyond the vertical plane of the axis of oscillation, and at this period the valve-actuator actuates to quickly shift the position of the piston-valve so as to reverse the direction of the flow of the aeriform fluid by cutting the same off from one compartment and admitting such fluid into the other compartment at a period when the liquid shall have been expelled wholly from one compartment and admitted in the desired quantity to the other compartment of said vessel, the movement of the vessel being continued in the same direction at this period of shifting the valve until the liquid is wholly expelled from the previously-loaded compartment, and the other compartment is quite materially heavier, because it contains the desired quantity of liquid.

The employment of the plates 26 27 prevents the packings of the valve-heads from coming in contact with sharp edges around the ingress-port for the motive fluid, thus minimizing wear on the packings and prolonging the serviceability of the pistomvalve.

The tank or vessel may be fastened to the rocker in any suitable Waysuch, for example, as by bolts-01 I may employ check-nuts screwed on the pipes 36 37 and bearing against washers which are fitted to the tank-bottom, thereby clamping the tank upon the rocker.

Changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made in the form and proportion of some of the parts while their essential features are retained and the spirit of the invention is embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the precise form of all It is to be observed that if the in-- Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In aliquid-elevating system, the combination with a rocker-plate provided with inlet and outlet passages, of a divided vessel supported by the rocker-plate, and valve mechanism directly supported by the plate and operated by the oscillations of said plate to control the inlet and outlet passages.

2. The combination with an oscillatory rocker-plate provided with a valve-chamber and a liquid-passage, of a motive-fluid-supply pipe constituting a fulcrum for the plate and communicating with the valve-chamber, a liquid-educt-ion pipe likewise constituting a fulcrum for the plate and communicating with the liquid-passage, a divided vessel sup ported upon the rocker-plate, motive-fluidinlet pipes extending into each compartment of the vessel from the rocker-plate and communicating with the valve-chamber, a valve located within the valve-chamber, and means for effecting the operation of the valve through the oscillation of the plate.

7 3. The combination with arocker-plate provided with coaxial sockets and pipe connections extended into said sockets, of a valvechamber and a liquid-outlet passage formed in the plate and each intersected by the sockets, a vessel supported by the plate and divided substantially in the vertical plane of its axis, motive-'fluid-inlet pipes located within the compartments of the vessel, having their discharge ends located in the upper portion thereof and communicating at their lower ends with the valve-chamber, a valve within the valve-chamber, and valve-actuating mechanism located below the plate.

4. The combination with a rocker-plate, a divided vessel supported thereby, means for supplying liquid to each compartment of the vessel, means for discharging liquid from said compartments through the plate, and means for efiecting the supply and exhaust of the motive fluid to said compartments through the plate, of a valve mechanism located within the plate and controlling the supply and exhaust of the motive fluid, a valve-adjuster operatively connected with the Valve mechanism and movable with the plate, and means for arresting the movement of the valve-adjuster before the plate has reached the limit of its movement.

5. The combination with a rocker-plate, and a divided vessel carried thereby, of means for eifecting the ingress and egress of liquid to and from each compartment of said vessel, means for effecting the ingress and egress of a motive fluid to and from said compartments above the liquid-level and through the rockerplate, a valve movable within the rocker-plate and controlling the supply and exhaust of the motive fluid, a slotted valve-adjuster 0peratively connected to said valve, and a stud engaging the slot of the valve-adjuster and designed to arrest the movement of the latter to actuate the valve when the vessel has passed beyond the center of its oscillatory movement.

6. The combination with a rocker-plate, a divided vessel carried thereby, means for effecting the ingress and egress of liquid to and from the compartments of said vessel,an openended valve-chamber formed in the plate, motive-fluid-inlet pipes extending from said chamber into the compartments of the vessel and opening adjacent to the top of the latter, means for supplying a motive fluid to the interior of the valve-chamber intermediate of the pipes, a valve within the valve-chamber foretfecting the alternate supply of motive fluid from the valve-chamber to each pipe and the exhaust of said fluid from the pipes through the ends of the valve-chamber, and means for effecting the actuation of the valve by the oscillation of the plate.

7. The combination with a motivefluidsupply pipe, a liquid-eduction pipe, and coaxial horizontal branches extending there from, of a rocker-plate provided with coaxial sockets for the reception of said pipe branches, a valve-chamber and a liquid-passage formed in the plate, disposed transversely to the sockets and in communication therewith, a divided vessel supported exclusively by the plate,motive-fluid-inlet pipes communicating at their lower ends with the valve-chamber and extending upwardly into the compartments of the vessel, valve-controlled liquideduction ports in the plate establishing communication between each compartment of the vessel and the liquid-passage, a double-headed valve within the valve-chamber, and means for actuating said valve through the oscillation of the plate.

8. The combination with a motive-fluidsupply pipe and a liquid-eduction pipe, of a rocker-plate supported exclusively by said pipes and provided with a valve-chamber and a liquid-passage communicating with said pipes, respectively, valve mechanism located in the valve-chamber in the plate and 'controlling the supply and exhaust of motive fluid, a divided vessel supported exclusively by the rocker-plate'and in communication with the valve-chamber and liquid-passage formed in the plate, means for effecting the ingress of liquid to the-vessel, and means for eli'ecting the actuation of the valve through the oscillation of the plate.

9. In a liquid-elevating system, the combination with a rocker-plate provided with the inlet-passage for the motive fluid and with an outlet-passage for the liquid, a divided vessel carried by the rocker-plate and having separate valves for controlling the. ingress and egress of fluid to the chambers thereof, an eduction pipe, a motive fluid-pressure pipe, a single valve slidably fitted in the motive-supply passage of the rocker-plate and movable with the latter for controlling the supply and exhaust of motive fluid to and from the chambers of said vessel, and a valveactuator operatively related to the valve and operated solely by the shiftable movement of the rocker-plate, substantially as described.

10. In a liquid-elevating system, the combination of a rocker-plate, an oscillatory vessel carried thereby, a piston-valve slidably fitted in the rocker-plate below said vessel, and a val ve-actuator movable with a certain amount of lost motion on an axis eccentric to the axis of oscillation of said vessel, substantially as described.

11. In a liquid-elevating system, the combination of the supply and eduction pipes, a rocker mounted thereon for communication therewith, a divided vessel carried by the rocker and having in each compartment thereof fluid ingress and egress valves, another valve carried by the rocker for controlling the admission and exhaust of motive fluid to said vessel, avalve-actuator connected to said valve, and a fixed point of resistance for the valve-actuator, said valve-actuator being capable of a limited amount of lost motion in the play of the rocker, substantially as described.

12. In a liquid-elevatin g system, the combination of the supply and eduction pipes having alined branches, a rocker provided with sockets, the valve-chest and the eductionpassage, glands embracing the pipe branches and screwed into the sockets of the rocker, a divided vessel carried by the rocker and having each compartment thereof provided with fluid inlet and outlet valves, short pipes attached to the rocker and extending into the chambers of the vessel, a piston-valve in the valve-chest of the rocker, a slotted valve-actuating arm connected to the piston-valve, and a fixed stud or bolt engaging with the slotted end of said arm, as set forth.

13. In a liquid-elevating system, the combination with a rocker-plate and an oscillatory vessel carried thereby, of a piston-valve slidably mounted in the rocker-plate below said vessel, and a valve-actuator, said valve-actuator being movable on an axis eccentric to the axis of oscillation of the vessel and capable of a limited amount of independent play, and so related to the valve and the vessel as to permit the latter to move progressively from its extreme position to a point slightly beyond the vertical plane of its axis of oscillation, and means for resisting the movement of the valve-actuator to cause the reciprocation of the valve to effect the cut ofl 0f the motive-fluid supply to a compartment of the vessel after the latter passes said plane.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

I-IORAGE LEE FROST.

Witnesses:

J. A. CARR, O. A. HANNELINE. 

